Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: yorkslass on September 04, 2018, 06:22:42 PM
-
For those of you who are contemplating testosterone I just thought I'd update you on my first six weeks.
I am peri menopausal, still having fairly regular periods but was struggling with lack of libido, no sexual sensation, drop in confidence, poor memory, generally not feeling like me. I was prescribed one pump per day of tostran.
In the first couple of weeks I seemed to react badly to alcohol- not sure if this was just coincidence or not but it resolved quickly - phew!.
After about three weeks my sensation during sex came back with bells on. Libido has not changed and so husband is still having to make the first move but things are so much better than they were. I'm back to enjoying intimacy rather than feeling like I am broken.
I've just had a six week blood test and was told that my testosterone levels are now abnormally high - as advised by the more experienced of you on here my dose was too high and I have been reduced to one pump every other day. Turns out that the consultant had suggested every two days but GP had prescribed daily in error.
Its still early days for things to improve further if they are going to, but I am so happy with the results so far that if this is as good as it gets I can live with the other symptoms.
Will update again after my next six week check.
-
thanks for sharing your experience. I am going to discuss whether to add this in at my 3 month appt if still feeling low in motivation. Please do keep posting about how it is going, but sounds positive so far :)
-
I am must a fan of of my Tostram half pump every other day. I am 46 and peri and it gave me back my sex life and confidence. I personally think it is the female Viagra.
-
thanks for that, yorkslass.
can i ask a couple of questions...
are you on hrt?
did you have your testosterone level measured prior to starting it? would you mind saying what it was?
i'm 46 too but haven't had a period for 4 months so prob becoming menopausal.
I'm finding it sooo difficult to find an hrt that i can tolerate and the last few years have been awful!!
anyway- I'm definitely interested in the possibility of testosterone!
Thanks :)
-
Hi Vintagefiend
I'm not on anything other than tostran. I'm not sure exactly what the numbers mean but GP told me that before I started the tostran my testosterone level was 0.3. It is now 2. She wants me to be below 1.7. No doubt someone on here will know what that actually means.
-
Good grief - no!!! You really shouldn't be on testosterone replacement without adequate estrogen. Who prescribed this? You are in the UK?😯 xxxx
-
Yes in the UK. GP prescribed following guidance from Dr Ayres at Leeds Menopause clinic. What is the effect of Testosterone if I do not have adequate estrogen?
-
thanks for replying, yorklass and apologies- i only just realised!
i think my T is about 1.6 so obvs ok.
i've seen Dr Ayres a couple of times- once privately and once on NHS- let's just say I won't bother again- very odd bedside manner- made me feel quite stupid!!
-
sorry- prob shouldn't have written that last bit but in a bit of a black mood!!
how are you now yorklass? did you investigate whether you need to be on oestrogen?
-
Hi again! just thought i'd say i wa completely wrong about my testosterone level- it's actuall 0.18 so not very high after all!
-
Any idea what a normal level should be?
M x
-
There is no "normal level" between individuals because it depends on which lab does the test. They all use different assays to measure so what may be within the normal range within one lab may be totally different in another.
Your GP / consultant will know immediately reading your results if you are within normal limits, low etc.
In other words, unlike many standard blood tests, there is no size fits all x
-
Mine is 00.2 I'm assuming that's low?
-
Yes in the UK. GP prescribed following guidance from Dr Ayres at Leeds Menopause clinic. What is the effect of Testosterone if I do not have adequate estrogen?
As women we have a certain ratio of oestrogen to testosterone - well within a range I imagine - and if we tip the balance in favour of testosterone then we become more male and androgenic characteristics will come to the fore.
Any idea what a normal level should be?
M x
The gynae I saw actually said that T tests for women are very unreliable and inaccurate because the tests are designed for men (ands their much higher T levels) and therefore are not sensitive enough to pick up higher and lower T levels for women because they are measuring T at the lower end of the scale. Also it is free tesosterone which is the crucial amount so measuring total testosterone does not give not the complete picture. If T is measured then it is usually total T but then SHBG should also be measured and from these two measurements the Free Androgen Index can be calculated - even so it is not strictly reliable. However after T replacement it is important to keep monitoring T levels to ensure that levels (or rather the FAI) do not go above the recommended range.
Mine is 00.2 I'm assuming that's low?
She told me that libido and other symptoms (having ruled out other causes) - especially in relation to age, is a more important indication of low T.
Hurdity x
-
I'm on two pumps of Tostran a week. I was put on this alongside changing a 75mg Estradot patch every three days by a meno doctor - even though my estrogen levels at the time were the lowest they'd ever been (54, and range is 48-854) after not absorbing Estrogel.
I asked her several times about do I need the estrogen levels to be better, and she was adamant that they will climb together. She's insisted on a blood test at 6 weeks.
Was she wrong?
-
Yes they will increase together, but somewhere I read that getting oestrogen to a decent level first sometimes actually improves libido/response for women without needing testosterone. Also it's a bit like putting women on conti HRT without trying oestrogen alone first - you don't know what hormone is doing what or making you feel like you do. However if your gynae says this is OK then she is the expert ::). Also if you generally feel better without ill effects then both hormones are working! Have you noticed any androgenic effects - but at least you are having blood tests after 6 weeks? Hopefully your oestrogen levels will improve and you will reap the benefits!
Hurdity x
-
Hey Audicity- that sounds great! glad you've had such good results
are you on HRT as well?
-
Hi Hurdity,
THanks for the answer. I haven't noticed any androgenic effects. What should I be looking for? Thanks, J
-
Wow! audaciity, that's amazing- what an endorsement!
yeah, i wouldn't give two hoots about hairy legs ;D
thanks for reply
-
Just thought I would add a further update as I have now been on Tostran for five months. From the initial (incorrectly prescribed) dose of daily I am now down to twice a week. My testosterone levels are still higher than my GP would like but she admits that she has no experience of prescribing this. I have to say that there has been no effect on my libido but my sensation and response is back - not quite as it was when I was taking a daily dose but still far better than it was when I had no sensation down there at all. So far no side effects either. I have finally been given an appointment at a menopause clinic for next week where hopefully I'll see someone who knows more than my GP as T seems to have helped one of my issues but I still have other symptoms which I'd like to deal with if possible. Watch this space.
-
I have been using a daily pea sized blob of Testogel for 2 years. Before starting my T level was only 0.7 which Prof Studd told me was very low.
I recently had bloods done and my GP was concerned that my T level was 19! Now, I didn't actually get to read my results and I wonder if my T level was actually 1.9?
Anyway, the only androgenic symptoms I have are that my forearms are more hairy, because I apply the gel to the underside of my forearms. Prof Studd's nurse told me this would happen, and I simply get my forearms waxed every 6 weeks.
Otherwise my libido hasn't changed too much but I find it much easier to orgasm and my response is much stronger.
-
Finally got to a menopause clinic today and what a difference it makes to talk to someone who sounds like they know what they are doing. Fingers crossed she does. I had over 30 minutes with her. We went over different types of HRT. She explained everything so well. As well as the testosterone she has now prescribed me oestrogel, one pump per day and utrogestan,2 capsules for 12 days. She's taken a load more blood for testing and will see me again in 3 months.
My day felt so much better just knowing that she believed me told her of all of my symptoms. I'm not going mad!
-
Well after the menopause clinic last month I have been advised to stop taking testosterone. The doctor has said that my testosterone and free testosterone levels are too high. So in six months I have gone from daily tostran to not at all. It does worry me though because as I have reduced the testosterone my sexual response has diminished. I really don't want to go back to feeling dead down below again.
I've got another appointment next week so will get more information on my T levels actually are and what the risks are of high T levels. if it is just going to be being more hairy I think I can live with that for the benefit.
Just as I thought things were looking up.
-
Thanks for the update yorkslass and sorry to hear this (about having to stop the T).. Yes I would be asking what my T levels actually are. If free T is measured then that's the reading that is important although I understood it was not usually measured? My doc (GP) measures T levels (which is total T) together with SHBG and with these two figures you can calculate the Free Androgen Index which gives an approximation of free T. SHBG binds free testosterone so you could have high SHBG and high T but normal free T if you see what I mean. There was a discussion a while back about what high SHGB means but we didn't get to the bottom of it as it is very complex as oestrogen binds to it too....
Good luck and let us know how you get on.....fingers crossed!
Hurdity x
-
I've had another appointment at the menopause clinic and the dr has expressed concern at my testosterone levels. Testosterone was 10nmol, SHGB was 38. I've been told to stay of the Tostran for a couple more months and then have my levels checked again and possibly start to reintroduce it at much lower doses than I have been on. I really hope I can get levels right so that I'm not at risk of side effects but I also get my response and sensation back. Have to say that I miss the effect that a daily dose of Tostran had on me!